My Mom’s Brisket Recipe Uses an Entire Bottle of Heinz Ketchup

When you edit a food magazine and happen to celebrate Hanukkah, one of the questions you get a lot is, "Do you have a good brisket recipe?" To which I always answer, "Of course—my mom’s." And then I explain how to make it: "Take a 14-ounce bottle of Heinz ketchup..."

Now, I have no idea whether Heinz ketchup is particularly "Jewish" or not, but whenever I start explaining the recipe this way, people raise an eyebrow, as if I don’t know anything about brisket. What they don’t know is how over three-plus hours in the oven, that bottle of ketchup—along with chopped onions, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and a mess of spices—transforms itself into something magical, a sweet fragrant glaze that seeps into every crevice of the meltingly tender of brisket.

Of course, I’m biased—it’s my mom’s recipe, after all. But just ask Mitchell Davis, vice president of the James Beard Foundation, who swears by this brisket recipe every time he hosts a holiday dinner. Or any of my persnickety former GQ colleagues, who now make it annually (and still manage to fit into their skinny suits).

Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown in a heavy-bottomed frypan. Transfer to a large Dutch oven or Pyrex glass roasting dish.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a large bowl and pour the sauce under and over the browned meat in the roasting pan. Roast for at least 3 hours, covered with foil. Baste halfway through the baking time.

Cool slightly before slicing. Or, if making ahead, slice and wrap in plastic and then foil, and freeze or refrigerate (store sauce separately). Reheat in a 325° oven with sauce liberally spooned over the sliced meat.